Wapl - WAPL cohesin release factor

Studies suggest that the protein encoded by this gene is important for the release of cohesin from chromatin. This gene product is thought to be essential for development, and reduced expression of this gene in cells causes defects in chromatin structure. High levels of expression of the human ortholog of this gene are observed in cervical cancers, and expression of the human ortholog of this gene in mice results in tumor formation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different protein isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2014]